By Jessica Kennedy.
“Try to remember the kind of September when life was slow and oh, so mellow…” The first song of Theatre Three’s production of The Fantasticks, running from July 16- August 15, will have you excited and nostalgic for live theater to return full force! Theatre Three will be opening with Grease for its 51st season in mid September. Until then, come and enjoy this witty and whimsical musical, written by Tom Jones and directed by Jeffrey Sanzel.
This show simply is, well, fantastic. Its message of survival and growth is heartfelt, and feels quite appropriate to end the long hiatus from live theater due to the pandemic. The story relies on metaphor and illusion in a way that is very engaging; this story of a boy, a girl, two fathers, and a wall can be as simple or as enigmatic as you fancy. Personally, I enjoyed deciphering both song lyrics and staging choices alike throughout the show. Although this show has seen myriad variations in format, I am always pleased to see how the talent at Theatre Three re-envisions a show.
Beyond the story itself, the performance was extremely well executed. The narrator, played by Steve McCoy, doubles as a significant character in the story, El Gallo. The ebb and flow between El Gallo and Narrator was both seamless, as well as very humorous at times. Additionally, many of the main characters flawlessly played instruments as they performed- in fact, there is no orchestra. The actors themselves become the musical accompaniment to their own songs. I have not seen this done often throughout a production before; I found it to be very pleasing to watch- and super impressive! While this show does highlight that life will always include valleys and trials as we watch the boy and girl (Matthew Joseph Hoffman and Meg Bush) struggle through them, it uses humor and wit within the relationship between the fathers (Jeffrey Hoffman and Kyle Imperatore) to highlight how even those who see the world differently can learn to get along. With the addition of the hilarious duo of traveling actors- played by Jeffrey Sanzel and Steven Uihlein- and the clever mute played by Michelle LaBozzetta, this cast delivered a show that was highly entertaining from start to finish!
The symbolism in the selection of the world’s longest running musical after such a difficult and lengthy closing is not lost on anyone who attends this performance. The show’s director, Jeffrey Sanzel, stated that, “The Fantasticks seemed the ideal vehicle to present in the summer of 2021. It is about a coming together that can only be realized in the shared experience of life theater, that relies on the community and communal experience…[this show] speaks to that which is within us: the desire for the world to be a magic place, and also the acceptance that it is not always so.” I couldn’t agree more.
The Fantasticks is playing at Theatre Three until August 15th, 2021. The theatre is located at 412 Main St. Port Jefferson, NY. For tickets click here.